


Warm and Safe

by doop_doop



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Hand Jobs, Kissing, Love Confessions, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Sharing a Bed, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:09:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22702978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doop_doop/pseuds/doop_doop
Summary: Sure, the bed wastechnicallylarge enough, but they’d be in physical contact with one another all night long.“Sorry,” Ignatz said, his voice sounding oddly high to his own ears. “I don’t think it’s going to work. Like I said, I’ll sleep on the floor. Or at least try.”“Hey, no, we fit! What’re you talking about?”Ignatz, Raphael, an isolated cabin, and only one bed.
Relationships: Raphael Kirsten/Ignatz Victor
Comments: 26
Kudos: 166





	Warm and Safe

**Author's Note:**

> I love writing tropey cliché things. Please don't think too critically about the setup here, just roll with it.

As soon as they were inside, Raphael began shaking the snowflakes from his hair. “Weird that it’s snowing so much, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah,” Ignatz said, wiping down his glasses. “Yeah, it is.”

He could think of nothing else to say. It  _ was _ weird: the snow had been falling lightly since that morning, but as the afternoon went on, the weather had morphed from gentle flurries to a full-blown blizzard. 

It was lucky that Ignatz and Raphael passed the cabin that morning as they were scouting the area, and lucky that they’d already begun heading back when the storm hit; thank the Goddess there was still enough light to see by, because with that much snow falling Ignatz wasn’t sure a torch would have lasted long. There was no way the two of them could have made it back to the monastery without getting hopelessly lost. By the time they’d stumbled back to the cabin, Ignatz had hardly been able to see Raphael only a few feet in front of him. 

This place had apparently been abandoned in a hurry, probably just before the beginning of the war. It was dusty but whole, no obvious gaps in the walls or roof. There was a pile of wood by the fireplace, and, once he’d shaken most of the snow off of himself, Ignatz built a fire. After it was burning, he took a moment to explore the rest of the cabin.

...Only to find there  _ was  _ no “rest of the cabin”: the whole structure was only one room. There was the fireplace with a cooking pot off to one side, a tiny table with a single chair, and a bed. That was it.

Ignatz figured it must have been a hunter’s lodge rather than a proper house because of how small it was - built for practicality, not comfort. It was fine. It was all they needed.

“I was really worried when it started snowing so hard,” Raphael said, smiling as Ignatz approached. His voice seemed to fill the room, though it wasn’t loud enough to hurt Ignatz’s ears; Raphael always seemed to toe that line, but he never quite crossed it. 

“I’m glad you remembered we’d passed this place!” he went on. “If I’d been alone, I would’ve tried to hurry back to the monastery, and probably would’ve gotten lost!”

Doubtless it was not Raphael’s intent, but Ignatz’s heart twisted at the words.  _ Then you would have died, _ he thought. “Tomorrow we should be able to find our way back easily enough using the sun, even if our tracks are covered by the snow.”

“Good!” Raphael said, beaming. “For now, this is a good place to spend the night. It’s pretty cozy, actually!”

_ Too cozy, _ Ignatz thought, and shivered. The space was clearly meant for one person. It was not meant for two adult men, particularly if one of them was as large as Raphael. He sat on the floor with a sigh. 

“Feels a little like old times,” Raphael said, sitting beside him, and Ignatz had to agree. It reminded him of the time before Raphael’s parents had died; in the winter, they would spend whole evenings by the fire, content to do nothing but talk until they passed out from exhaustion. 

“It’s nice,” Ignatz said. But, no,  _ nice  _ wasn’t the right word, not by a long shot; the feeling was bittersweet and complicated, making him tight-chested again. 

Raphael’s nod of agreement, though, was unhesitating and enthusiastic. “If I had to be trapped with anyone,” he said, “you’re the person I’d choose!”

Ignatz swallowed and said nothing. He couldn’t in all honesty agree - not because he disliked Raphael, but because he knew it was going to be a tough half-day to endure. 

Ignatz’s feelings for Raphael had politely waited until after the two of them had reunited, five years after the start of the war, before rearing their ugly head. It had taken Ignatz a long time to identify why he felt so strongly towards Raphael - why he was so painfully happy to be back at his side, why thinking of leaving it again made him feel raw and afraid.

_ He is my friend, _ Ignatz had told himself by way of explanation.  _ This is the second time we were separated and reunited. I don’t want us to be separated again. It’s natural that I’m scared. _

But it wasn’t just fear of loss, he realized quickly. That was enough to explain  _ some  _ of his feelings, but not all; it certainly didn’t explain why he found himself staring at Raphael almost against his will whenever he got the chance, especially when he trained - why Ignatz could easily get lost watching the sweat bead on Raphael’s brow and marveling at the movement of his muscles beneath his skin. 

No, it didn’t explain that at all. 

As soon as Ignatz noticed his feelings, they seemed to grow tenfold, throwing him into a cycle of embarrassment and guilt. Just to look at Raphael would remind Ignatz how powerful his feelings were - and how close he was to giving everything away. But avoiding his friend was not the answer; Ignatz was determined not to let Raphael think he’d done anything wrong, not like last time, because he  _ hadn’t _ \- this was all Ignatz’s fault, and he was not going to let Raphael suffer for it.

Ignatz looked over his shoulder at the bed. It hardly even looked big enough for Raphael alone. If the two of them slept in it together, Ignatz would have to lie entirely on top of him. 

There was a not-small, rebellious, awful part of him that  _ loved _ that idea.

\---

For a little while, they were both quiet, content to rest and warm themselves. Ignatz got up every now and then to stoke the fire, but otherwise the two of them shifted little. It was only once they were both warm and dry that Raphael broke the silence. “I’m hungry,” he said, and Ignatz could have laughed from how very  _ Raphael _ it was. 

“I’m sure you are,” Ignatz said. “I am, too. But I didn’t bring any food with me.”

“Me neither.” 

“You can take a look, but I didn’t see any here in the cabin. Even if there was, it would be a few years old, I’d guess, and probably not good anymore.”

Raphael didn’t seem to listen to the second sentence; he rose to his feet and looked around, hopeful there might be food Ignatz had simply missed. It didn’t take long for him to be proven wrong. Afterwards, he sat back down with a thump and a sigh.

“We’ll be fine until morning,” Ignatz said. “We can melt some snow for water when we get thirsty. We won’t starve after only a night without food.”

Raphael frowned. “I know,” he said, sounding as if his heart had been broken. “We’ll be fine. It’s only just one night. But when I don’t eat, it’s hard for me to focus on anything but how hungry I am.”

“Then let’s talk,” Ignatz suggested. “That should help take your mind off things.”

“Okay. About what?”

“Anything,” Ignatz said. “Anything you want. I’m sure there are things you haven’t talked about that happened when we were apart, stories you haven’t told me.” 

“Oh, yeah, definitely!” Raphael said, and he began to talk - about Maya and his home and how terribly he’d missed his classmates when they’d been separated. It was nice to have Raphael doing all the talking; Ignatz had a good reason to stare at him, to nod along mutely and admire the gleam in his eyes, the way the firelight lit his skin all orange and yellow.

When Raphael was done, Ignatz spoke too, and Raphael listened just as intently; and for a while it really did feel like old times, like somehow the years that had separated them and changed everything had been undone. 

They talked for a long time, several hours at least. Then abruptly Raphael rose, stretching his arms above his head. “We should sleep,” he said, offering his hand to Ignatz. Ignatz took it, and Raphael pulled him to his feet. “The sooner we go to bed, the sooner we’ll wake up tomorrow - and the sooner we can head back and let everyone know we’re okay.”

“Right,” Ignatz said. His gaze fell on the bed. “Um, you can sleep there tonight. I’ll… I’ll find some place on the floor.” 

Raphael was shaking his head before the words had finished leaving Ignatz’s mouth. “No way. You don’t need to sleep on the floor. I bet that wouldn’t even work - I know you’re a light sleeper.”

“I really don’t think we could both fit.”

“We might as well try.” 

_ Goddess, _ Ignatz thought,  _ please give me strength. _ “Fine. You get in first.” 

Raphael lay down on the bed, which creaked a little beneath his weight. Then he coughed. “Dusty,” he said, and stood again, brushing it off as best he could. Afterwards he lay back down and slid all the way to one side, looking at Ignatz expectantly. Waiting.

Ignatz approached. There was no graceful way to bow out now, so he just took a deep breath and lay next to Raphael. Though they still wore their clothing, Ignatz could feel Raphael’s body pressed to his own all the way down his body. Sure, the bed was  _ technically _ large enough, but they’d be in physical contact with one another  _ all night long.  _

Ignatz jumped to his feet. “Sorry,” he said, his voice sounding oddly high to his own ears. “I don’t think it’s going to work. Like I said, I’ll sleep on the floor. Or at least try.” 

“Hey, no, we fit! What’re you talking about?” 

“It won’t be comfortable for either of us. Look, please don’t be stubborn, Raphael. You won’t be able to change my mind.”

“Ignatz.” 

There was something in Raphael’s tone that made him freeze, his heart pounding. “...Yes?”

“You’re still not totally back to normal,” Raphael said. “I’m happy we’re friends again, but I can see how you still avoid me sometimes!” 

“I don’t avoid you,” Ignatz said, his heart sinking. “If I do, I’m sorry, it’s not-”

“You avoid  _ touching  _ me,” Raphael said. “When we accidentally brush hands, you jump away! Are you scared of me all of a sudden? It doesn’t make any sense. You know we can both fit in this bed, no problem - so just tell me what’s up, or I’m not going to budge!”

Ignatz was fast realizing that he could hide nothing from Raphael. No matter how innocuous the secret, no matter how hard he tried, Raphael could see through all the walls he put up, and would be able to tell the instant something wasn’t right. 

Ignatz felt close to being sick. Raphael had risen from the bed and was staring him down, looking both angry and concerned. And Raphael was  _ stubborn. _ This was a battle Ignatz knew he could not win.

“You’re right,” he said, after a long pause. He shut his eyes. “There  _ is  _ something I’m hiding. I just hope you won’t change your opinion of me if I tell it to you. I don’t want to lose our friendship.”

“Me neither,” Raphael said, putting emphasis on the words.  _ So tell me, _ he seemed to be saying.  _ Trust me. _

Ignatz  _ did  _ trust him. That Raphael still cared for him so deeply after life had tried its best to tear them apart showed he wasn’t about to let a few puny obstacles get in his way of being Ignatz’s friend. 

“I, um…” Ignatz resisted the urge to clench his eyes even more tightly shut and opened them to look up at Raphael. “I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings. If I was avoiding you, it was my attempt to hide them.” He laughed humorlessly. “Although it doesn’t seem to have done me much good, huh.” 

Raphael was staring at him. Ignatz had expected Raphael to blush, even to laugh in surprise, but he hadn’t expected this blank, shocked stare. It frightened him. “...Raphael?”

“You really do?” Raphael said, voice soft.

“Yes, I… I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable by sharing the bed, since-”

“Since we started school together at the monastery,” Raphael said, cutting him off. “That’s how long  _ I’ve  _ liked  _ you.”  _

Now it was Ignatz’s turn now to stare open-mouthed. “R-really?”

“Yup! I tried so hard to get things back to where they were before, but really this whole time I’ve been wanting to be even closer than that.” His face broke out into a broad smile. “Maybe I should’ve tried what you did and held myself back, but I can’t help it! I just want to spend as much time with you as possible.” 

“I’m glad you didn’t distance yourself.” 

“Me too! But…” Ignatz could see the emotions as they flitted across Raphael’s face, the grinning confidence turning suddenly to shyness. “I understand if you don’t want to share the bed with me anyways. I won’t force you, honest. I was being stubborn because I just wanted to know what was bothering you.”

“You  _ want  _ to share the bed with me, right?”

“Of course!”

“And you want to…” The words were devilishly hard to get out. “You don’t mind that we’ll be lying that close? You don’t mind touching me?” 

_ “Don’t mind?”  _ Raphael echoed. “Of course I don’t  _ mind!”  _ Then that shyness again, Raphael’s voice growing quieter as if he still wasn’t sure it was alright to say aloud. “I  _ want _ to lie next to you. I  _ want _ to touch you.” 

Ignatz grew hot at the words. The fire was dying, and he was tired, but he was miles from sleep. “I want - I want that too,” he said. “I want you to touch me. I want to touch you…” 

Raphael took a deep breath. His eyes were dark, and fixed unwaveringly on Ignatz. “Will you come lie next to me again?” he asked, and Ignatz, who did not trust his own voice, nodded. 

Lying down next to Raphael now, with everything out in the open, felt so different than it had just five minutes ago. Now when their legs brushed, Ignatz shivered and pressed back against Raphael, relishing the touch, knowing he didn’t have to shy away. Now instead of lying on their backs, the two of them rolled to face one another; by the light of the dying fire Ignatz could see Raphael’s eyes still firmly focused on him. 

“You can,” Ignatz said. “Um - touch me, I mean. You can. If you want to.”

Slowly, gently, as if he were touching a wild thing that might flee, Raphael reached his hand up and stroked the side of Ignatz’s face. But Ignatz pulled away - “Hang on,” he said, sitting up abruptly; he’d forgotten he was still wearing his glasses until he’d felt Raphael brush against them. 

He set them aside, then came back. “Keep going,” he said, and Raphael’s hand was on him again in an instant. Ignatz found himself shutting his eyes and leaning into the touch, feeling a little like a cat being stroked.

Raphael’s hand made its way slowly down Ignatz’s face to his neck, the touch feather-light, then further down - past his collarbone down his chest, his stomach, to linger at his hip. Ignatz found himself aching for Raphael to move his hand further. He felt like a coiled spring, like a bent stick about to snap.

“Ignatz… Can…” 

“Yes,” Ignatz said, knowing the question. _ “Please.”  _

Raphael didn’t hesitate; in a moment his hand was on Ignatz’s cock, touching it through the fabric of his pants. It felt more exploratory than purposeful, but it still felt good to have someone else’s hand there - to have  _ Raphael’s _ hand there. 

Being in that cabin was just about the most isolated Ignatz ever been: they were miles away from the monastery, from any other living soul, and it gave Ignatz an unexpected sense of freedom. It was as if all his shame was far away too, just a distant memory - as if there really was no one in the world but the two of them, and why should he be embarrassed about anything in front of Raphael? 

Raphael’s hand on his cock felt good, so good; Ignatz rutted into it and moaned. It was only a hand, the same as his own hand really, and he  _ never _ moaned while pleasuring himself - but there was something about it being  _ Raphael, _ about feeling Raphael’s warmth and smelling his scent and hearing the soft sound of his breathing, that made everything feel so much more intense than it did when Ignatz was alone. He made no effort whatsoever to hold back his sounds.

_ “Ignatz,”  _ Raphael said, sounding surprised, but, Ignatz thought, pleasantly so. His hand pulled away, and Ignatz’s eyes fluttered open - but Raphael was only untying his pants in order to slip his hand underneath, and Ignatz sighed and relaxed, letting his eyes fall shut once more.

The feel of skin on skin was even more potent, and for a second Ignatz could do nothing more than throw his head back and breathe. It was as if he was getting used to almost-too-hot water, or acclimating his eyes to bright light: for a few seconds his senses felt stretched to their limit, like he was too sensitive, like this was all too much for him to handle at once. Raphael’s hand was much larger than his own, warm and rough and callused, and he set a fast rhythm; Ignatz grabbed the first place he could get his hands onto, Raphael’s shoulders and arms, and held tight. 

He was blind by this point, of course; even if he’d put his glasses back on, the fire was so low as to offer almost no light whatsoever. So Ignatz didn’t even bother opening his eyes, just lay there with Raphael’s hand on him, holding tight to him, keening in a way that would have made him blush in embarrassment in another place and time. 

The pace Raphael set made Ignatz’s orgasm come so quickly, much faster than when he was just using his own hand; it felt more intense too, every muscle in his body tensing, his nails digging into Raphael’s skin without him even realizing.

For a little while afterwards he could not move. It was as if he’d run a race; he could only lie there and breathe, exhausted, feeling the sweat on his skin beginning to cool. Raphael slowly drew his hand out, and Ignatz loosened his grip - his hands must have been digging in tightly, but Raphael hadn’t said a word about that, hadn’t even seemed to mind.

“Raphael,” Ignatz said at last, when he trusted his voice once more. “That felt amazing. I - I enjoyed that a lot.”

“Good,” Raphael said. Ignatz heard the smile in it. “I thought you did, but I really like hearing you say it.”

Ignatz pulled him closer, and felt Raphael’s arms wrap around him in return. His face was buried in Raphael’s neck, chin against the other man’s collarbone. For a little while they held one another like that, no sound in the little cabin but their breathing; then Ignatz pulled away to speak. “Can I do you as well?”

“You don’t have to,” Raphael said quickly. But Ignatz could tell from his voice that the idea appealed to him - not to mention, Ignatz could feel his cock pressed against his leg, still powerfully hard. 

“I  _ want  _ to, though,” Ignatz said. He wanted very badly to give Raphael the same pleasure he himself had felt. He wanted to explore Raphael’s body with his hands, to touch him all over and see if he would make the same noises Ignatz himself had made. If only Ignatz could see him! - but there would be other times, when the light was better and he could keep his glasses on and see everything. (At least he hoped there would be.)

“If - if you want to, then,” Raphael said. It was strange to hear trepidation in his voice. It didn’t suit him. 

_ “Yes, _ I want to,” Ignatz said, not caring that he was repeating himself, and moved to touch Raphael’s body. As his hands first made contact, though, he felt a nose bump his nose, lips pressing against his lips. 

Despite all the touching they’d done so far that evening, the kiss still took Ignatz by surprise. This was something he’d daydreamed about before, of course, but in the rush of that first intimacy he’d had other things on his mind. 

It was messy and rough at first, but as they kept kissing Ignatz could feel both of them getting better at it. Raphael’s lips were soft and warm, and kissing him felt like something Ignatz could easily get lost in, could spend hours luxuriating in. But that, too, could wait for another time.

Not breaking the kiss, Ignatz felt his way down Raphael’s body, feeling his cock through the fabric of his pants just as Raphael had done to him. The effect was instantaneous: Raphael jerked his hips towards Ignatz sharply and made a sound of pleasure that was muffled by the kiss.

Ignatz continued to stroke him, wondering whether he should pause to slip his hand beneath Raphael’s pants as Raphael had done to him, when he felt Raphael shudder and freeze. He was coming, Ignatz realized, and did not stop his hand until he felt Raphael relax and pull away to take a great, heaving breath.

_ “Ignatz,”  _ he said, and he sounded almost worshipful - grateful and happy and awed. “I never thought we’d ever actually do that. It makes me so happy. I…” 

He broke off with a sigh, and Ignatz wondered if he’d been about to say  _ I love you - _ and what Ignatz would have said in response if he had.

It didn’t matter. Ignatz knew there would be time - time for both of them to sort out their feelings, to decide precisely what this meant for them - but not tonight. Tonight, they needed to sleep. The next morning, he knew, would be a hard one - fighting their way through the snow on empty stomachs, hurrying back to the monastery before the others got too worried about them.

He and Raphael did, in the end, share the bed. It didn’t matter that when the fire finally died, a chill came over the whole of the cabin; they slid under the blanket and pressed against one another for warmth. When he woke up once in the middle of the night, Ignatz only had to roll over again and feel the comforting weight of Raphael’s body beside him to know he was safe, and drift off once more, into a deep and peaceful sleep.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!
> 
> \- [my twitter](https://twitter.com/doop_doop2)


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